Limpopo-born entrepreneur, Mokgadi Letsoalo-Melwa ventured into the business world in 2014 to pursue her passion and desire to develop and build a successful sustainable black-owned business.
She started BUILDFIX, a construction company that focuses on property restorations, maintenance for insurance companies and banks for their property portfolios. Her business also supplies innovative building material solutions called BUILDKIT,the kits are packaged according to house plan specifications for multi-unit housing projects.
Although most of her clients are insurance companies and banks, she also provides services to individuals and organizations and has managed to create over 15 full-time jobs.
According to Letsoalo-Melwa, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was a big blow to the construction space, and it required her company to review its business offering in order to survive the pandemic. “It really hit us hard. We had to diversify our business model which led us to manufacture surgical masks and surgical overalls in order to generate an income, as these were in demand during various stages of the lockdown,” she said.
Letsoalo-Melwa sees herself as a change agent and an activist within the business of construction who breaks barriers. She noted that the secret of survival in entrepreneurship is the ability to adapt to demand.
“Getting into a space that does not have many young black women has been rewarding and a very challenging journey… it is not an easy path to walk, but it requires one to have a thick skin, a solid support system and to be rooted spiritually, “she advised.
To boost the graduate’s business, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) provided Letsoalo-Melwa with a business grant. NYDA is linked with the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) which provides non-financial support in the form of risk management training, costing and pricing.
